𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 || Inazuma Eleven

[4] Haru...

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"Kidou-san! Breaking neeews!"

A boy with spiky and raised-up light cyan hair propelled himself forward with an eager urgency, almost yelling. Kuuho has seen this boy with Kidou a couple of times. She talked to him before, but they aren't really close. She doesn't know if him and Kidou are friends or not, but they seem to be well acquainted. 

"Hm? What's going on?"

Kidou stopped walking to hear what he has to say.

 "Gouenji did join Raimon's soccer club after all!"

"Yeah, looks like it." Kidou said. Seems like it wasn't much of a surprise to him.

"Ah, I should have known you'd have already heard about it. Since it's you we're talking about, Kidou-san! "

"Speaking of Raimon... They have their match this afternoon, wanna go see it?" Domon suggested.

"You mean doing reconnaissance? Heh, not a bad idea."

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴.

"Oh, sounds fun!" Kuuho, who felt as if she was third-wheeling this interaction, exclaimed in a cheery voice.

"Are you gonna transfer to Raimon soon, Domon-san? Wasn't the desicion too studden?" Kuuho asked, trying to make conversation.

The commander decreed that Domon will transfer to Raimon and play a so called role of a 'Spy'. Because, as he says, there are simply too many uncertainties surrounding Raimon right now and that they need to be prepared for every eventually. 

"It's no problem! I'll slip right in! They'll never even notice the impostor in their ranks!" Despite him willingly participating in this somewhat unrighteous act, he seems to be a good-natured guy.

"Well, you're a funny guy, so you'll fit in easily."

"I can't tell if that's suppose to be a compliment or not..." Domon sweatdropped at her words.

"Do you want to come too, Usugumo-san?"

"Actually, I think I'll pass." Kuuho declined his offer.

The draw for the regional qualifiers of the Football Frontier is finally out, and the matches began. One of their matches was with a team named Ryuuguu. Though they came up with new hissatsus, they were still pretty medicore and easy to predict, so they played like usual and won with minimal effort. 

As expected, Teikoku has been destroying their competition left and right, confident that they'll be the champions for yet another year. As they progressed through every match, so did their skills. 

Speaking of hissatsus, Teikoku has been trying to develop a new one that they could use once the finals come. Emperor Penguin N.1 has proved to have detrimental effect on the body, deeming it far too risky. Coming up with an alternative, the team agreed that Emperor Penguin should have two players kicking the ball instead of one. While this decreases the amount of power the shoot holds, it keeps everyone involved in it safe. The previous move was now considered forbidden. Hopefully no one uses it again. Sakuma seemed estatic to use this new move, but it wasn't completed yet.

Meanwhile, Kuuho was also practicing on creating her own special move which she hopes will impress everyone.

"I want you to show me a perfect, absolute victory."

"Yes, sir!" Everyone said in unison.

Kuuho recalled the commander's words that kept lingering in their minds everytime they practiced. His voice carried a sense of control as he established his authority amongst the team. He kept repeating that line in particular, so they'd always be reminded of it. Kuuho thinks he is a enigmatic man with the way he carries himself.

Kidou, as the captain, was directing each team member on their weaknesses, how to overcome them, and highlighting their strengths. It makes sense that he's getting more strict. 

There was something odd though. 

Lately, Kuuho has noticed there was something off about Kidou. With every match they partaked in, and as they got closer to the finals, he seemed to be getting more intense, in a strange way. Even the other team members were starting to notice and they grew a little worried. Though, that should have been expected, as they always had their eyes on their captain. He'd always insist that he's fine.

Kuuho felt droplets flow down her face, leaking onto the grass. She was a little worn out, so she sat down for a break to regain her breath. Kidou was also taking a little break of his own.

He was seemingly detached, absorbed in his own thoughts.

"Haru...." He mumbled something unintelligible that she couldn't quite make out before he noticed her approaching him.

𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘶...?

She could have swore he said something that sounded like.... someone's name?

Nevermind.

"We have been executing Death Zone much better than before!~"

She couldn't bring herself to outright say '𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?'.

"Yes, I've noticed. Keep it up." 

"The finals are coming. Victory will be for us, I'm sure of it." 

A firm statement on its own, but it felt lacking in certainty. His eyes narrowed, though she couldn't exactly see them. Again, she wonders what goes on in his mind. 

Following that, a dull silence permeates the air for a moment.

"Say, Usugumo-san, do you have any siblings?"

She was confused as to why he would ask such a peculiar question, but happily answered nonetheless.

"Yes, I do! Two younger brothers. They are so cute!" She clasped her hands as she spoke fondly of her siblings.

"Why do you ask?" She titled her head.

"Nothing. Sorry, it was a weird question to ask all of a sudden. Don't pay it any mind."

Well, it's kind of difficult not to pay it any mind after he said that.

She did not try to intrude any further and refrained from questioning.

The day of the district finals came. Teikoku Academy up againts Raimon Junior High; the second showdown. Kuuho was amazed by how much their team improved, given that she initially thought they were weak and not worth any of their time. It seems she made an error in her judgement. Perhaps she may have been too ignorant. Of course, she will be taking the match seriously to ensure they come out on top.

For the first time in a while, Kuuho felt her heart pump in anticipation. It wasn't like her to get so nervous, so she tried to keep her calm posture.

"Would you look at that, Raimon's finally here."

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Apologies. This chapter is not very good, but I am excited to write the next events from this point on!

 I didn't want to write the matches with Teikoku that we didn't see in the show because I felt that it wouldn't be interesting.